Steve and Bucky: Frozen Love
by Master of Debate
Summary: Almost seven decades after the Second World War, Steve Rogers is reunited with his best friend Bucky Barnes. But why is Bucky avoiding Steve? What secret is he hiding? Will Captain America find a way to thaw the Winter Soldier's frozen heart?
1. The Winter Soldier

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction involving Marvel Comics characters. I do not own Marvel Comics; obviously, because if I did, Marvel would have become Marvelous Man-on-Man Action. I do not earn money from this story.

This fanfiction was inspired by the 2013 movie Frozen. Frozen is owned by Disney. No, this is not a crossover. No character from Frozen is participating in this story. Just frozen characters — with a small "f."

**Steve and Bucky: Frozen Love**

by: Master of Debate

**Chapter 1: The Winter Soldier**

Novaya Zemlya, Russia. A dark, barely perceptible aircraft was flying some 60,000 feet above the tundra, way higher than any commercial plane was designed to withstand. It darted in a strange way through the deep night sky, now here, then there, spinning and tilting and aiming for the thick winter clouds, acting in a manner which would be deemed illogical, even suicidal, for an ordinary plane in an ordinary situation.

From inside the aircraft, its pilot, a jolly, red-haired middle-aged man, shouted to his passengers.

"How y'all back there? Still alive? Everything clean? -sniffs- It doesn't smell like barf yet... okay, good! Here we gooooo!"

He pulled a lever, and the aircraft performed a topsy-turvy and a drill roll in succession, for probably the seventh or eighth time that night.

From the passengers' section, an attractive blond-haired woman shouted back: "Jesus Christ, Dugan! Can you please, for the love of God, please be more careful?" She instinctively tightened her seatbelt and clung onto her abdomen.

"No can do, Sharon. Careful can't cut it here. Detectors all around trying to triangulate our location. We stay on a predictable course or position for longer than two minutes, and the enemy will be on our asses faster than you can say 'Here we go agaaaaaiiin!' " which was soon followed by a double roulette.

Sharon rolled her eyes. She then turned to the man beside her, and smiled. Tall, broad-shouldered, blond and extremely good-looking, he often caught the eye of many women (and men) around him but seemed oblivious to the attention. Just like now. He was too busy reading the dossier in his hands to notice that the lovely Sharon had already leaned over, her lips a mere inch from his face.

"You know," she spoke, softly, almost whispering into his ear, "we're starting the mission in about 15 minutes, and you don't have time to cram. But I can brief you on the essentials right now. For a price, of course."

Handsome blond guy took a deep breath, and shut the dossier. "Thank you and I appreciate your kindness, Ma'am, but there is no need for that. I was already done studying the mission details by yesterday and was just refreshing my knowledge."

Sharon pouted and shook her head. "You're such a downer, Steve Rogers. But I'll get you someday, just you wait."

Steve responded with a change in subject: "So this place that we're going to is a nuclear testing site, right?"

"Was," said Dugan, keeping his eyes forward. Unlike Sharon, he had no attraction for men. "But yeah, you're right. 'Twas from the Cold War — after your time, Cap. The US and the USSR clawing at each other like a pair of jealous beauties, for no intelligent reason. Don't ya quote me on that — I might lose my job — but, crass as it is, it's the truth. You're lucky to have missed it."

"Given the circumstances, the area is supposed to be uninhabited," added Sharon. "Just a test site, nothing more. But our intelligence has found evidence of advanced weaponry — and I'm talking SHIELD-level technology — coming from around here and being traded on the black market."

"A weapons factory and laboratory being run actively from around these coordinates, most likely," said Dugan. "But a preliminary scan of the area shows nothing, and these things aren't exactly easy to hide. So how do we find a sophisticated weapons lab in the middle of nowhere?"

"Easy," quipped Captain Rogers. "Just take a look at how SHIELD does it. Hiding their weapons factories in plain sight. I should be asking you guys. It takes one to know one." He shook his head in disappointment. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm fighting for a noble cause or if I'm being used as a pawn by SHIELD, again, for its own interests, again."

SHIELD agent Sharon chuckled. "Welcome to the 21st century, Captain America."

"And welcome to ground zero," added SHIELD agent Dugan. "We're here, kiddies. Now, before y'all go out," as Captain America and the other SHIELD agents unclasped their seatbelts and began to gear up, Dugan's face became serious, and he took a deep breath, "watch out for the Winter Soldier."

The Winter Soldier. Captain America had spent an entire week reading up on him and being briefed on him. SHIELD had a dossier as thick as a short novel about the man: VIPs assassinated, prominent bombings and other terrorist acts, a most dangerous man of high caliber, whose identity remained elusive to this day. What thickened the mystery was that his career spanned a period of nearly seven decades — almost as long as Steve's coma in the Arctic ice. SHIELD inferred that the Winter Soldier was more likely several men assuming the same identity, rather than just one man with an inhumanly long lifespan.

After everything that had happened since he awakened, Captain America wouldn't be surprised if it were otherwise.

The hatch of the aircraft opened, and Dugan gave the signal. Captain America led the way, jumping out five seconds before the others, anticipating the enemies that may be waiting for them.

He landed on the tundra, followed a long while later by several SHIELD agents. Around them, the air was at a harsh -24 C. With almost gale force winds buffeting ice crystals, the wind chill was a deadly -40 C. Without the advanced equipment protecting them from the elements, these SHIELD agents would have died or suffered severe hypothermia within a matter of minutes.

"Zero visibility," Captain America said through his communicator. "Activating night vision infrared."

Suddenly, a man screamed in pain. One of the agents had been knocked out of action. Captain America turned his sights to the direction of the sound, just in time to see a fist flying toward him, and just in time to bring his famous shield between himself and the enemy. The punch resounded with a loud gong. Captain America swung his shield in an attempt to hit, but the enemy was fast and evaded his counter-attack.

Captain America flung his shield spinning like a boomerang towards his nemesis, who — much to Cap's surprise — caught the shield in his hand and sent it flying back. Captain America caught his faithful shield, as his nemesis leapt forward, grabbing his infrared goggles and helmet and tearing them away from his face. Without it, Cap could not see anything other than the whirling ice fog.

But he had other senses to rely upon, and, thanks to the Super Soldier Serum, these too had been enhanced — even more now that could not use his sight. He heard the rustling footsteps of the enemy, closing in on him. He detected his pulse. Captain America held out his arm and grabbed his enemy by the throat, and pushed him down to the ground. They wrestled like this for several minutes, throwing punches and kicks.

And then, as though by fate, the blizzard cleared for a few moments, and Captain America caught a glimpse of his enemy: the Winter Soldier. Before this, he had only seen him in sketches, eyewitness accounts, and blurry photographs. The Winter Soldier was exactly as he was described, though far more daunting in person: a brown-haired physically fit man with a black mask over his nose and his mouth, emphasizing his eyes, which were empty and cold and full of hatred. But, strangely, they were familiar... and this smell... the smell of his hair...

Captain America was distracted long enough for the Winter Soldier to charge a powerful punch and to hit with it straight at his forehead. Instinctively, and feeling his consciousness fading away, Cap grabbed onto the Winter Soldier's mask and pulled it off. A face he had known for so long looked back at him—

"B-Bucky?"

And he passed out.

The Winter Soldier raised his fist to deliver the killing blow. But then, for some reason he could not understand, he kept that fist away from the unconscious body of Captain America. He gazed at the handsome blond man lying on the ground... he saw images flash before his eyes... images of a friendship and love once thought to be long lost...

"Steve?"

He fell to the ground, crying feverishly, and held the limp body of Captain America in his arms.

"Oh, Steve... What have I done? Wake up... please... Wake up..."

"Hands in the air! Don't move!"

A dozen SHIELD agents surrounded them, guns pointed at Bucky.

"He took down Captain America!"

"Oh my God! Steve! Steve!"

"Dugan! We have a medical emergency! Standby for airlift!"

"I said, hands in the air! Now!"

Bucky bowed in silence. He gently let go of Steve and slowly put his arms up. Three agents approached, shackled his arms behind his back, and pulled him away, where another three agents kept their guns pointed at his head. While the rest of the agents attended to Captain America, Bucky looked back.

Thanks to the blizzard and the frenzy, no one noticed the tears on his face or, if they did, they did not seem to care.

(to be continued)


	2. The Secret

**Chapter 2: The Secret**

SHIELD headquarters infirmary. A big dark-skinned man in a heavy trenchcoat and army boots calmly walked through the corridors with his arms behind his back. Doctors and staff moved aside and greeted him quietly as he passed. Serious and stern-faced with a bulldog-ish jowl and a patch over his left eye that told of many battles in the past, this man — Col. Nicholas J. Fury, Director of SHIELD — was obviously not someone to play nonsense with.

He approached the head doctor, and said, "Give me a status report on Captain Rogers."

"Serious concussion from a direct hit to the forehead, sir. Thankfully, no other physical injuries. It would take him at least a week, but we expect him to make a full recovery."

"Has he already recovered consciousness?"

"He did, for a brief period. It's still touch-and-go at this point. Any other man would have snapped his neck with that kind of hit, so, considering, he's very lucky. But this is Captain America we're talking about." The doctor flipped a page. "Signs of mild amnesia as well. He doesn't remember anything from the day of the incident, but, otherwise, his memory is intact."

"That's not so bad." Might be even better that way, Fury thought.

"Also, he did say a name before passing out again."

"Which was?" But, at this point, Fury already knew.

"Bucky. The name was Bucky, sir."

Immediately after receiving the news, Director Fury visited a secret facility in the second floor. To those who did not know its true purpose, with its five-star hotel interior design — red-carpeted halls fitted with finely-carved wood furnishings and stylish paintings — it would have appeared to be the VIP guest suite.

Unknown to most SHIELD personnel, this was the special detention facility, designed to keep superhumanly powered villains in and away from society. Each cell boasted of the comforts of a luxurious home — complete with a library and a jacuzzi — to help mellow down hostilities during the process of reeducating the inmate to integrate with a peaceful civilization. Of course, thanks to SHIELD and Stark Industries technologies, no prisoner could go out without special permissions.

Using a retinal scan, thumbprint scan and a voiced password, Fury entered cell number 13. Inside this cell, still and solemn as a well-behaved boy, was Bucky Barnes. Upon seeing Director Fury enter, he ran to the communications portal and asked, "How's Steve? Tell me he'll be alright."

"He'll be fine, Mr. Barnes," Fury replied. "But, thankfully, he won't remember what happened on your encounter."

"Thank God..."

"Let's have a talk, shall we?" Seeing hesitation in Bucky's face, Fury added: "You want to help Steve, don't you? So let's talk. Pull up a seat." Bucky complied, grabbed the nearest chair and sat in front of Fury, a fusion bomb-proof window between them. "So tell me: What do you remember from being the Winter Soldier?"

Bucky paused for a while, apparently collecting his thoughts, then answered: "Not much. Most of everything was fuzzy. I remember a voice in my head telling me to kill certain people. I remember obeying. I didn't have a choice. And ice. I remember being surrounded by ice. It was so cold at first. After so many times, I've become numb to it. I know it's strange but—" He looked up at Fury with sad eyes. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Believe me, I've seen stranger things in my life. I believe you."

"Thanks..."

"Do you still feel the urge to kill?"

"Sometimes. Yes. And I'm scared! I might hurt people again, might hurt Steve again..." He buried his face in his hands.

"That's why you're here, so that you won't hurt people. So that we can help you."

"You'll... you'll help me?"

"Yes. We'll help you."

"Oh, okay. Thank you..."

Later that evening, Director Fury and Deputy Director Maria Hill met in his office. With her cute face framed by a black pixie haircut, Hill exuded a sweeter and warmer aura compared to that of her boss. However, hiding behind this beguiling exterior was a tough-as-nails personality that wouldn't hesitate to lie, steal and kill, whatever it would take to get her job done.

"Our agents searched a five-mile spherical radius from the point of the incident," she said. "They did not find any traces of a weapons factory having ever been built there. It was nothing but a frozen wasteland."

"But that doesn't explain why the Winter Soldier was there, waiting for our agents," argued Fury.

"Which means our intelligence was led with false information, to trap Captain America and SHIELD into facing the Winter Soldier. Or maybe..."

"Or maybe what, Hill?"

"Or maybe our intelligence themselves led us there."

Fury's brows furrowed. His voice lowered to almost a whisper. "Are you saying that SHIELD has been compromised?"

Hill leaned closer. "It's not impossible. From a certain perspective, the Winter Soldier has already infiltrated our headquarters, as a prisoner. It's not unlike what Loki had done two years ago."

"Nonetheless, it is safer to have him here, where we can monitor him, and where he can do no harm."

"I agree, sir. But what about Rogers?"

"What about him?"

"If he finds out his best friend is here—"

"We'll inform him ourselves before that happens. Fortunately, he does not remember facing the Winter Soldier. He does not have to know that his friend and his enemy are the same person." Fury straightened himself up. "Meanwhile, keep an eye on Barnes. Make sure he doesn't do anything suspicious."

"Yes, sir."

Steve was already fully conscious the next day. After a routine check-up, he was visited by Fury, who asked about his condition. Just as the doctor had said, Steve did not remember anything from the incident, so Fury went on to fill him in.

"Whoever ran the weapons factory left long before you got there," said Fury. "They had cleared out everything — papers, equipment... We got nothing, not even a trace of the weapon that hit you as you landed. But we did find that they had held a prisoner. I'm sure you know him. James Buchanan Barnes—"

"Bucky?" Steve tried to stand up, but, still weak and in pain from his injuries, quickly shot back down. "But he's been dead for many decades!"

"Well, he wasn't dead when we got him, and he's certainly not dead now. He's in another room here at SHIELD. We suspect he was cryogenically frozen, just like you, and survived the procedure."

"I must see him! I must—"

"That will be for another day, Steve. Though I must warn you... he appears to not be in his usual state of mind. He could be dangerous. You must be careful."

"You don't know his usual state of mind. You've never known him. He's my best friend—"

"Your best friend needs his rest, and so do you. Calm down now, Steve." Fury motioned to a doctor, who then injected a mild tranquilizer into Steve's IV drip. A few seconds later, despite his efforts to fight it, Steve was overwhelmed by a deep sense of peace and quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in the special detention facility, Bucky was reading a young adult novel on vampires. He had been reading all sorts of books to keep his mind away from... things...

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through him, and voices droned like bees in his head:

Death... Death to Fury... Death to America... Death to the lackeys of SHIELD... Hail HYDRA...

The voices droned on and on. Bucky slapped himself several times until the voices died down and the pain was gone.

Bucky gasped as he collected his bearings. When he was comfortable enough, he tried to resume his reading, but found that he had torn the book to pieces.

(to be continued)


End file.
